Gervase Markham, Gervase also spelled Jervis (born c. 1568, England—died Feb. 3, 1637, London, Eng.) English poet and author of a number of popular treatises on country and sporting pursuits.

Markham was a minor poet with a few fine passages, but his association with the earl of Essex led Robert Gittings to suggest in Shakespeare’s Rival (1960) that he might be the rival poet referred to in Shakespeare’s sonnets. Gittings also maintained that Markham was partially the inspiration for the character of Don Armado in Love’s Labour’s Lost.

After military service in the Netherlands and Ireland, Markham turned to writing as a profession. He was an accomplished horseman and wrote often on the topic. He also wrote two plays, The Dumb Knight (1608) with Lewis Machin, and The True Tragedy of Herod and Antipater (1622) with William Sampson.

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